General FIAT newb

[hnknrob]

hey folks, im new to the forum, and new to fiats, but certainly not new to cars. but as i appear to be heading down a new path i thought id come to you guys for advice.

im going to look at a 1980 fiat spider but im hoping you guys can give me a little info on the car so im not going in blindly. ie, details on engine size, type of fuel distribution, etc.

as well as a list of common problems, or things to look for when purchasing a spider. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance, cheers

 

[jug]

1980 is when fuel injection began. the engine is a 1995cc with dohc aluminum crossflow head. it was the first dohc engine to use a timing belt so check it has been changed within the last 35k at least.

the engine may be designed by ferrari, but its still only a 99bhp unit so dont expect amazing performance.

it has front and rear disc brakes which is surprisingly for the age of the car, and the suspension isnt as primitive as you'd expect (actualy its good for the time period)

main problems are electrics and rust, especially rust you cant see that can make a seemingly good condition car unroadworthy.